Our mission-driven work to build a more just world, welcome our new neighbors and advocate for an inclusive community is rooted in our own lived experiences. CRIW’s cofounders are three women - A former refugee from Afghanistan, an immigrant from Italy and a granddaughter of Jewish refugees fleeing genocide in Eastern Europe in the early twentieth century. 

In 2020, we came together in response to the urgent needs of underserved Afghan refugee women in New Haven, many of whom had experienced war, displacement, interrupted or no formal education, and faced significant barriers to opportunity and essential resources.

While our paths to New Haven were different, we are united by a core belief: the women who best understand these challenges are also essential to creating the solutions.

Our Story

CRIW Team & Board of Directors

Donna Golden

Co-founder, Co-Executive Director

  • The granddaughter of refugees fleeing the genocide of Jews in Eastern Europe, I am committed to working for a more just, inclusive and compassionate society, and believe in the transformative power of community for healing and growth. I have a PhD in Clinical Psychology and have dedicated the past five decades to pro bono social justice work with the most vulnerable and marginalized members of my community. In 2017, I co-founded Sanctuary Kitchen, a nonprofit program of CitySeed that partners with refugee and immigrant women to provide employment and culinary training. Since 2006, I have served as a volunteer with IRIS - Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services. I bring passion and experience in program management, community engagement, advocacy, curriculum design, training and instruction as well as strength-based and trauma-informed care to my work. I am a lifelong learner, and am grateful to be part of the vibrant and diverse New Haven community.

Rachele Pierro

Co-founder, Co-Executive Director Board Vice-Chair

  • I have a MA in Environment and Development (King’s College London, UK) and a Laurea in Italian and Anthropology (Universita’ di Genova, Italy). At Yale University, I worked as a researcher at Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), collaborating on a cross-cultural research project on climate-related hazards, disasters, and cultural transformations. Prior to this, I worked at Christian Aid (London, UK), an international development charity, supporting local NGOs in developing countries in their effort to increase local communities’ resilience to natural hazards. My work was rooted in community-based participatory research and participatory rural appraisal approach. Since 2013, I have been serving as a volunteer in various capacities with Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services -IRIS and St. John’s Church with underserved, preliterate refugee women from rural Afghanistan. My expertise spans international development, qualitative research methodologies, participatory techniques, and navigating diverse cultural landscapes. My multifaceted experience enriches my ability to create meaningful impact and foster positive change in marginalized communities.

Hossna Samadi

Co-founder, Co-Executive Director Board Chair

  • Born in Kabul, Afghanistan and resettled with my family in New Haven in 2016, I have devoted the past six years to advocating for and serving refugees and immigrants in New Haven in many different capacities. Having experienced the challenges of being a refugee first hand, I am passionate about supporting and amplifying refugee voices, particularly Afghan women. In my work with Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services - IRIS, I serve as the Outreach Coordinator and am a frequent public speaker. From 2022-2023, I was a Program Associate at Sanctuary Kitchen, a nonprofit partnering with refugee and immigrant chefs to provide employment and professional training. In 2022, I was joined the Nonprofit Management Program for Emerging Leaders of Color Cohort - a joint initiative of the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven offered and the University of Connecticut. This was a two-year executive leadership program designed for middle-management nonprofit staff in the Greater New Haven area. Graduating in spring 2022 with an Associate of Science degree in Accounting from CT State Community College Gateway, I am currently a part time student at Southern CT State University.

Annie Harper

Board Secretary ‍

Assistant Professor in Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine

  • I am a cultural anthropologist working as an Associate Research Scientist at the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH), where I conduct research on poverty, finances and mental illness. I am interested in addressing the social determinants of mental health, focusing in particular on how the financial services and retail industries could better serve low income people generally, and people with mental illness in particular. I work closely with the City of New Haven and the broader community’s efforts to provide support to low income residents struggling with financial difficulties.

Azhar Ahmed

Board Director

Case Manager, CT Institute for Refugees & Immigrants

  • I came to America from Sudan after emigrating first to Egypt to finish my education. In Egypt, I  earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and worked as a Nubian Community Organizer and a teacher with refugee children and teens. Since resettling in New Haven in June 2015 with my family, I graduated from the culinary training program at Sanctuary Kitchen where I was employed until  February, 2024 - first as a chef and then as the Operations Manager. I am a graduate of Collab’s early stage food entrepreneur training program. During Covid, I established a program called Kumi’s Dream, which I named in memory of my father. Kumi’s Dream provided homemade, hot meals to the hungry and homeless in partnership with DESK - the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen. Currently, I am a case manager at CIRI - Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants.

    For two decades, I have been an advocate for the rights of refugees and immigrants. This includes my role as Ambassador at IRIS - Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services. Since 2016, I have been a passionate public speaker and welcome newcomers to the U.S..

    I am excited to join the CRIW Board and use my experience to continue advocating for the well-being of refugee women in New Haven.


Sara Bloem

Board Fellow, Yale School of Management

  • I am an MBA candidate at Yale School of Management and a trained fine artist (RISD). My career includes eight years in senior leadership at a creative services company and work in nonprofit governance and community mediation. Raised in multigenerational immigrant family, I am driven by mission-centered work that advances dignity and opportunity for immigrants.

Board Director

Leslie Wyrtzen

Senior Lecturer, Councils on African and Middle East Studies, Yale University

  • I am a human geographer and Senior Lecturer at Yale University in African and Middle East Studies. My work focuses on how the movement of people and things shape the spaces we live in and ideas about who belongs. My first project focused on the experiences of West and Central African migrants in the Mediterranean borderlands; my current project traces the history and impacts of New England gun manufacturing in Central Asia and Southern Africa. I am also working with local community groups to document the impacts of these industries on New Haven and Hamden neighborhoods and advocate for reparative work to address industrial pollution. I moved with my family to Greater New Haven in 2009 and am lucky to call it home.

CRIW Community Advisory Council

Johnny Scafidi

Director, Yale Adult Refugee Clinic

Aniyizhai Annamalai, MD

Yale Dwight Hall Center for Public Service & Social Justice Director, Community Outreach & Engagement

ProBono Partnerships Director, Connecticut Program

Priya Morgenstern, Esq.

Nooria Raouf Azeemi, MD

Salma Mody, CNM, MPH